Time of Troubles

The Time of Troubles (Russian: Смутное время, romanized: Smutnoye vremya), also known as Smuta (Russian: Смута, lit. 'troubles'),^[1] was a period of political crisis in Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I,^[2] the last of the House of Rurik, and ended in 1613 with the accession of Michael I of the House of Romanov.

It was a period of deep social crisis and lawlessness following the death of Feodor I, a weak and possibly intellectually disabled ruler who died without an heir. His death ended the Rurik dynasty, leading to a violent succession crisis with numerous usurpers and false Dmitrys (imposters) claiming the title of tsar.^[3] Russia experienced the famine of 1601–1603, which killed almost a third of the population, within three years of Feodor's death. Russia was occupied by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Polish–Russian War (also known as the Dimitriads) until it was expelled in 1612. It was one of the most turbulent and violent periods in Russian history. In just 15 years, the crown changed hands six times. Estimates of total deaths caused by the conflict range from 1 to 1.2 million, while some areas of Russia experienced population declines of over 50 percent.^[4]

The Time of Troubles ended with the election of Michael Romanov as tsar by the Zemsky Sobor in 1613, establishing the Romanov dynasty, which ruled Russia until the February Revolution in 1917.

^ Gruber, Isaiah (15 May 2012). Orthodox Russia in Crisis: Church and Nation in the Time of Troubles. Cornell University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-5017-5738-9.
^ "Britannica - Fyodor I". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
^ Ehlers, Kai. (2009). Russland - Herzschlag einer Weltmacht. Pforte-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-85636-213-3. OCLC 428224102.
^ Алексеев Ю. Г. (2019). Военная история допетровской России (in Russian). СПб: Издательство Олега Абышко. p. 143. ISBN 978-5-6041671-3-7. Archived from the original on 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2021-11-05.

[1] Gruber, Isaiah (15 May 2012). Orthodox Russia in Crisis: Church and Nation in the Time of Troubles. Cornell University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-5017-5738-9.

[2] "Britannica - Fyodor I". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2020-04-24.

[3] Ehlers, Kai. (2009). Russland - Herzschlag einer Weltmacht. Pforte-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-85636-213-3. OCLC 428224102.

[Алексеев_Ю._Г._2019_143-4] Алексеев Ю. Г. (2019). Военная история допетровской России (in Russian). СПб: Издательство Олега Абышко. p. 143. ISBN 978-5-6041671-3-7. Archived from the original on 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2021-11-05.

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